Ironing board with foldable legs and a sleeveboard attachment



Juy l0, 1951 J. A. LuDLow 2,559,887

IRONING BOARD WITH FOLDABLE LEGS AND A SLEEVE BOARD ATTACHMENT Filed June 19, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l JUE? 10 w51 J A LUDLow 2,559,887

IRONING BOARD`W1'TH FOLDABLE LEGS AND A SLEEVE BOARD ATTACHMENT Filed June .1.9, 194'? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Patented July 10, 1951 IRONING BOARD WITH FOLDABLE LEGS AND A SLEEVEBOARD ATTACHMENT James Alfred Ludlow, Bromley, England, assignor to Campbell Engineering Co. Limited, Bromley, England, a British company Application June 19, 1947, serial No. 755,555 In Great Britain July 4, 1946 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires July 4, 1966 1 claim. i

This invention relates to ironing boards and has for its object to provide sucn devices of great and general utility which moreover can be folded to occupy a small space when out-of-use.

1n general, ironing boards in accordance with the invention comprise an ironing board proper and a sleeve board. The ironing board proper has legs which can be set into two positions in relation thereto, that is, in one, acting to support the board in a horizontal plane for use, and in the other collapsed and folded to lie against the underside of the board.

The sleeve board also has legs adapted to be set into two positions, that is, in one, standing upon the ironing board proper and acting so that the sleeve board proper comes more or less hori- Zontal, and in the other collapsed and folded to lie against the underside of th-e sleeve board proper.

Additionally, the sleeve board is attached to the ironing board proper in such manner that it can be erected and brought to stand in the correct position on the surface of the ironing board proper, whilst when not required it can be brought to hang out-of-the-way below the ironing board proper. Further, it can be brought into and retained in position between the leg structure of the ironing board proper, either when this latter is still erected and in use or when collapsed and folded. Thus, when completely folded it will be understood that the whole device of necessity then occupies the minimum spac-e for storage or transport.

In one particular method of carrying the invention into elect, the ironing board proper is of a usual conventional shape in plan, that is, elongated rectangular with one end somewhat pointed in a symmetrical manner. It is formed from sheet metal of desired gauge with a surrounding downturned flange. At the square end, the upper surface carries an asbestos or like sheet framed in metal.

The upper and lateral surfaces beyond this position and to and including the pointed end are covered-in by suitable padding, whilst this padding in turn is covered by a suitable textile such Tubular metal legs are provided for the ironing board proper. These are constituted by two frames of general U form, one to come just within the other` when folded and against which the ironing board itself is disposed when the whole device is folded.

The lower closed ends of the U frames form the feet proper and these closed ends are wider than the upper open ends, in a symmetrical manner, to give stability when opened out. The limbs on each side are pivoted togetherat a mid-point, so that when opened out from their folded co-planar position the two frames come in different planes intersecting in an X-like manner.

'Ihe upper ends of the limbs of one of the frames are formed continuous and pass through two guide straps located on the underside of the ironing board; These guide straps come parallel and a desired distance apart and their ends are bent upwardly and attached to the underside of the said board. The front ends which come towards the pointed portion of the ironing board4 form stops to limit the opening movement of the legs, whilst the rear ends which come towards the hinges of the other portion of the main leg structure form stops to limit the closing action. The spacing of the straps from the underside of the board may slightly vary to assist the folding action.

The sleeve board has a leg structure formed from two frames of metal rod which are pivoted together and adapted to occupy two positions, one the collapsed in which they come more or less flat on the underside of the sleeve board, and the other the extended or supporting in which they come in two different planes intersecting in an X-like manner to support the sleeve board upon the surface of the ironing board.

One of the frames is of elongated U form, the limbs towards their open end being bent at right angles and again bent parallel so that the distance between the limbs of the U towards the free ends is greater than that towards the closed end. In fact, the Wider spacing of the free ends of the limbs is sufficient to pass over the lateral edges of the ironing board, so that these actual free ends can be pivoted in downwardly projecting brackets carried by the underside of the ironing board. This forms the axially fixed hinge on which the whole sleeve board structure can be swung from below on to the ironing board or the like or from this latter position down under the ironing board.

The closed end of this U frame cornes beneath the sleeve board and there engages in movement limiting and positioning slotted parts. The underside of the sleeve board proper also has a spring retaining clip to assist in maintaining the parts folded.

The other of the two frames of metal rod to form the leg structure of the sleeve board is bent substantially into the form of an elongated rectangle the longer sides of which are pivoted to the narrower part of the U frame already referred to and one end of this other frame is hingedly pivoted in a bearing on the underside and towards the rear of the sleeve board. The forward end forms the foot and the longer sides in the positions adjacent the end may have a gradual curve to form the foot proper.

The dimensions and arrangement of the parts preferably are such that with the sleeve board fully erected it can be swung downwardly over the rear end of the ironing board to hang on the lower side and then swung forwardly to engage by its lateral edges with spring clip retaining means attached in suitable positions to one of the leg frames of the ironing board. By this action automatically the sleeve board is lbrought from the erected position to its collapsed position, to lie snugly in the clip carried by the leg structure of the ironing board.

In order that the invention may be better understood, it will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of example only and in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of one embodiment of an ironing board according to the invention, in the erected position, with portions broken away and portions in vertical section,

Fig. 2 an under plan of Fig. l,

Fig. 3 a pers ective view ci the device in the erected position,

Fig. 4 an under plan of the sleeve board with its leg structure in the folded or collapsed position and to a larger scale, and

Fig. 5 a sectional elevation of an outer ironing covering for the sleeve board shown in Fig. 4.

It should be pointed out that in some views, particularly Figs. l and 5, certain dimensions relating to thickness are exaggerated for clearness, owing to the small scale of the drawings.

The ironing board proper is, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, of a usual conventional shape. It is formed from a sheet metal base 5 with a surrounding downturned flange 'i and at the squared end there is a framed asbestos (or like) sheet 8 for supporting the iron when out of use. The upper surface of the base 6 supports a padding 9 with an outer covering Iii of coarse linen or otherwise, shown somewhat diagrammatically. This is held in position in any known and suitable manner, for example by lacing which extends between eyelets in the edges of the covering l and which comes beneath the base 6.

The ironing board proper thus formed is supported by a folding leg structure comprising two somewhat U-shaped tubular metal frames.

One of these consists of two limbs II with an integral base I2, bent as shown to form feet. The limbs come a certain distance apart at the base and converge to the open top. Here they are flattened and periorated and hingedly mounted in downturned brackets 33 attached beneath the base 6.

The other leg frame is somewhat similar, that.

is, it has upwardly converging limbs I3 and a base I4 bent to form feet. At the top the ends are bent and joined to form a continuous bar I5. This passes between the base 6 of the ironing board and two parallel metal straps I xed to the underside of the base 6 a desired distance apart. Towards the ends they are shaped to forni abutments Il at the front and I8 at the rear.

The leg frames are hinged together at I9 to form an X-shaped support in elevation when open and as shown in Fig. 1. When closed, the frame formed by the limbs I3 and vbase It comes within the other leg frame, the dimensions and spacings being designed for this Purpose.

The abutments Il of the straps IS limit the opening movement of the legs and the abutments I8 the closing movement, by the co-operation of the cross bar i5. Moreover, the straps I6 have a downward slope rearwardly to assist the folding action.

Between the pivot I9 and the upper ends of the limbs II, these limbs carry a cross bar 20 which in turn carries a two-armed spring clip 2l for the purpose hereafter described.

The sleeve board proper is shaped as shown in Fig. 4 and has a structure generally similar to that of the ironing board proper, that is to say, it comprises a sheet metal base 22 with a surrounding downturned iiange 23 and having a pad '2li and an outer cover 25 on the upper surface.

The leg structure of the sleeve board is formed from two frames oi metal rod which are pivoted together and adapted to occupy two positions, one the collapsed in which they come more or less flat on the underside of the sleeve board (Fig. 4), and the other the extended or supporting in which they come in two diierent planes intersecting in an X-like manner to support the sleeve board upon the surface of the ironing board (Figs. l and 3).

One oi these frames is of substantially elongated U form, each limb having a double rightangled bend therein. That is to say, the frame comprises a bar portion 25 forming the closed end oi the U and two limbs, each limb having a portion 2l proceeding from the bar portion 25, a widening-out bent portion 28 and wider spaced limb portions proper 29 which at their ends are turned-in in a coaxial manner into screwed pivot portions 3Q having nuts 3l. As will be seen from Fig. 4, the portions 2l have a spacing which is slightly less than the distance between the lateral flanges of the base 22, and the portions 25 are so spaced that they can pass over the lateral edges of the ironing board proper as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The pivotal portions 39 are pivotally mounted in brackets 32 projecting downwardly and carried on the underside of the base 6 of the ironing board.

Beneath the base 22 in the correct position there is Xed a plate 3E, having two spaced apart symmetrically arranged downwardly projecting brackets 35. Each :bracket has a similar slot therein and each slot comprises a downwardly and rearwardly inclined portion St which terminates at the rear in an upwardly extending notch 3l (Fig. l). The closed end of the U frame, that is to say, the bar portion 2G, works jin these slotted brackets and in the folded state such bar portion 25 comes in the position shown in Fig. 4, that is to say, towards the upper end oi the inclined slots 36, where a suitably located spring clip 38 attached to the underside of the ,l base 22 assists in retaining it in position.

The other leg frame is bent substantially into the form of an elongated rectangle and comprises two longer sides 39 the ends of which are bent in axial alignment to form the hinge 40. This 1s pivotally mounted in a bearing 4I attached to the underside of the base 22 towards its rear. The forward narrowed end 42 forms the foot and preferably the longer sides adjacent this foot have a gradual curve at 43. These two frames are pivoted together at 44, the pivots 44 on each side coming in axial alignment. The dimensions and arrangement of the parts moreover are such that in the folded condition the leg structure comes flat on the underside of the sleeve board and when erected (that is, Where the parts are maintained by the bar 26 engaging in the notches 31) comes in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

Again, when in this last-mentined position, the dimensions and arrangement of the parts are such that the sleeve board can be swung downwardly over the rear end of the ironingboard in the direction of the arrow 45 (Fig. l), to come and hang beneath the ironing board.

The parts moreover are preferably so relatively disposed that in its passage the rear end of the sleeve board abuts the rear end of the ironing board, which action has the eifect, by the continued turning movement, of bringing the bar 26 from out of the notches 31 to ride up the inclined slotted portions 36 and to be engaged -by the spring 38. In other words, the sleeve board is brought to the folded position and in this position when hanging beneath the ironing board, can be swung forward so that its side flanges are springily engaged by the clips-2I on the bar 28 to hold the parts folded against the leg structure II-I2-I I. This is indicated by dot and dash lines in Fig. 1. Moreover, this is the position such parts occupy when the leg structure I3-I4--I3 is turned in the direction of the arrows 46-41, to lie within the leg structure I I-I 2-I I, and when the ironing board structure is turned in the direction of the arrow 48 so that its plane comes parallel and adjacent the plane of the folded leg structures, which is the folded or collapsed position of the whole device.

It readily will be understood how the device can be erected. For example, if it is simply necessary to use the ironing board proper, then the leg structure I3-I4-I3 is turned outwardly from the other main leg structure, the ironing board proper thus also turning about the brackets 33. This brings the ironing board into the position for use. Should in addition it be necessary to use the sleeve board, then it is simply necessary to pull on its pointed end which is lowermost, that is to say, the end numbered 49 in Fig. 1. By this the ironing board structure is not only disengaged from the clips 2| to swing rearwardly, but by the same action the bar 26 is disengaged from the spring 38. Then, as'the ironing board structure is swung still further rearwardly, upwardly and over it is brought into the position where the bar 26 engages the notches 31. Thus finally, when it comes into the position shown in Fig. 1 it is locked in the erected position ready for use.

In some cases the outer covering for the ironing board proper or for the sleeve board proper or for both, may have the forward or front part formed as a bag. That is to say, with an under thickness so that this lpart may be pulled over the pointed end of the particular board. Such a construction is indicated in Fig. 5 where 50 is the upper thickness of the cover ythe rear end 5I of which is held in position by the clamping action of the frame 52 of the asbestos sheet 8 or, in the case of the sleeve board proper, by the similar clamping action of a metal angle strip 53 secured by screws to the base 22. This has stitched to its lateral edges towards the front, for example by a double seam indicated at 54, a lower thickness 55 which extends a desired distance to the rear. It will thus be seen that by the engagement of the flanged base 22 or 6, as the case may be, in such a pocket, the padding carried by the base is held in position.

The invention is not limited to the precise forms or details of construction herein described, as these may be varied to suit particular requirements.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America is:

In combination with an ironing board, a pair of U-shaped leg frames lpivotally connected together between their ends and adapted to form in extended cross relation a support for said ironing board, apertured brackets projecting downwardly from the under surface or" said ironing board for pivotally attaching one of said leg frames to said under surface near one end thereof, two parallel metal straps xed a desired distance apart to the said under surface between the said brackets and the other end of the ironing board for slidably guiding one end of the other frame on the under-surface of said ironing board, a sleeve board, a second pair of U- shaped leg frames pivotally connected together between their ends and adapted to form in extended cross relation a support for said sleeve board in its operative position in spaced relation above said ironing board, and between its ends a pair of slotted brackets extending downwardly from the under surface of said sleeve board and having mounted therein one end of one of said U-shaped sleeve board leg frames, a further pair of brackets extending downwardly from the under surface of said ironing board between said pivot connection of said first mentioned ironing board leg frame and the adjacent end of said ironing board, said further brackets having pivotally connected thereto the other end of the beforementioned U-shaped sleeve board leg frame, said sleeve board leg frame having such length and disposition that the sleeve board is adapted to be swung from its centrally operative erected position on the ironing board, rearwardly over the end of said ironing board into an inoperative positionparallel to and adjacent the U-shaped leg frame which is pivotally attached to the ironing board, and a spring clip on said last-named U-shaped leg frame having two clip portions proper for releasably engaging the side edges of the sleeve board to hold itin its inoperative position.

JAMES ALFRED LUDLOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,073,122 Henne Sept. 16, 1913 1,226,987 Nichols May 22, 1917 2,424,734 Booth July 29, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 593,668 Germany Mar, 1. 1934 

